I'm back....

A lot has happen since I have last written.... Taylor made me cry with her song she sang in Sacrament Meeting... I can't imagine someone singing so beautiful as Taylor, Rachael, and Jared in our family... I cannot sing a lick.... Taylor gave two talks also and she did such a great job... It was Young Women in Excellance in Sacrament meeting...Becca and Brent and company was here this weekend and that was so special... The Boys are just a crack up and they are so smart.... They were quoting Articles of Faith and I didn't learn them until I was 8 and even then I did not know them as well as Becca's boys.... Brent, Joshua, and I went to Cal City to play golf... It was a lot of fun and I beat Joshua by two strokes in playoff golf... We tied after 18 holes... Brent, Becca, Venna and I went and saw a horrible movie together, "Where the Wild Things Are"... The company was good... BYU got smashed by TCU and that really hurt... Julie helped baby sit Becca's kids and we appreciated that and Jared replaced my alternater in my van... See, I am a lucky guy... Friday, we had Jacob's family, Rachael's family, Joshua's family and Julie and Jared for fun and pizza... I am the luckiest person in the world to have such a wonderful family.... Bo played a lot of computer games and the only one's we missed was Scott and Corine and family... I do wish they could have been here.... I just went to my first stupid day of training while I missed teaching my own class... The government is so stupid, I just can't believe it....

Today was sure rich with stupidity!

Our state government who has zero money sent me to a training session today and is sending me all next week, also... I had about 10 minutes when I thought I was getting someting and is that worth being out of my class.... Crazy.... Like a 57 year old teacher who I feel has been successful is really going to change the way they teach... I just cannot understand the logic for it all... I had blood work done today to check my thyroids and I will let you know what happened.... I officiated a Desert Chistian high school game today... It cracks me up that they are sending a Mormon boy 100 dollars to do their game...Night....

My apologies...

I am sorry for sounding morbid by putting up my funeral arrangements but I have decided that I want to put things out there that I feel that are important... And since I am convinced that I am going to be there for my funeral, well, I just thought it would be fun to put down what would be nice for me if I am there.... I really plan on living a lot of years and quite frankly I hope I can live to be an age of a tree and just get ressurected by the twinkling of an eye... I got a life time to live with Venna and a whole lot of golfing to do... I also, yea I really need to, well, do my geneology too.... Well my first day of vacation is tomorrow as they are taking me out of the classroom to go to some stupid training sessions... I will be away from my class all week next week... I am also taking Brent golfing Friday so I will need a substitute for that too.... Everything is going great and I am a happy person.... Night....

My Funeral Agenda will include....

Oh, Holy Night- Mark Gallop
I Know That My Redeemer Lives
Oh My Father
Poor Wayfaring Man of Grief
How Great Thou Art
I'll Go Where You Want Me to Go Dear Lord

A talk on the Plan of Salvation- President Martz if he out lives me

And all of my Grandkids singing "I Am a Child of God"

Night...

Keep the commandments journal entry!

It is really interesting to me how a sickness or other distractions will get you off the path of being consistent with good thing. I got kicked around last week with a lot of physical ailments and I came up weak in the department of enduring and sustaining my writing in this journal. Quite frankly, I am writing this time because I just know I have to or I will spiral out of control and not write for a long time... I enjoyed our Sacrament meeting today because we had our singing testimony meeting going... Taylor and I had many tears shed between us and I even perceived to see Bo shed a few also... "The Poor Wayfaring Man of Grief" tore me apart.... I had an interview with Brian Thomas and it was a high light in my career of interviewing people under the influence of being a Priesthood leader... I believe he and Rachael will be going to the temple soon.... Obviously I cannot reveal what we talked about but I will reveal that the Spirit was there in great abundance... I also gave Jared a Father's blessing and that was a wonderful experience... I love my membership in the Lord's church... Venna was sick today, she is really going through it... And yet she made us a wonderful stew for dinner... Yea, I married a valiant woman that is one of a kind and I know, that I am lucky... Oh, I also started my geneology Sunday School class.... Night...

Venna is sick....

Yep, it was Venna's turn to be sick... She did not go to school today... I am so tired of this stuff... I went to school and was regretting it for the first two hours but then my second wind kicked in and I was alright... Now, I am eating regularly and feeling pretty good... One good news about the sickness was that I weighed myself this morning and for the first time in a long time I weighed in the 160ies... I weighed 168.2 and that has me feeling pretty good... We had a good presidency meeting and I really appreciate Jason Jay, Jared Briggs, and Brian Thomas's counsel as we tried to get a handle on things in the quorom....I sure hope Venna is completely well tomorrow... Bo gave me the slightest and I mean slightest attitude and then we were busting up laughing when I told him that I was pretty lucky to only have 5 months of attitude and that he was late because he should have started 5 years ago... I told him that he will find out how teenagers are when he has his and he told me that he will send them to their room if they give him any attitude and then we laughed some more.... I really am lucky to have Bo and Taylor be my last two children... Not that my first 6 were to bad, well except for the one time that I took down Becca's bedroom door for some, uh, yea, attitude.... But all of my kids were fun to raise as teenagers... I am really going to enjoy watching them raise their teenagers... Night....

Wow, I was really sick!

Sunday at 2:00 I began an adventure that I hope that I will never have to experience again... In the next six hours I threw up fourteen times and it was violent... I was really worried that I had one of those scary flu's but I feel better now and though my stomach is bruised from the upheval yet I feel like I am back... What was really tough is that during my ordeal the Angels were playing a miracle game against the Red Sox... I was keeping up but I didn't put extra time on the taping and I came up short... My recording stopped when the Angels were hitting in the 9th inning, and during that time the Angels scored three runs to beat the Red Sox 7-6.... We finally turned the clock and did a miracle game against them... Revenge for 1986... Jared and Joshua came over and blessed me and that was a special experience.... I had the opportunity to ordain Loyal Dillon as an Elder and Mark Hammel as a High Priest...

Corinne I really enjoy your blog!

Your comment section won't allow me to comment so I thought I would beat it by commenting on my blog.... It is so much fun to see the growth of Darin and Lizzy... Keep up the good work.... Julie thank you for sharing with me yours and Jared's trials and victories... Hey, Joshua and Rachelle I want to hear from you... Mom had a horrible experience at school and if she wants to share it she will but I found it hard to remain stable today and not want to throttle my administrator though she did wake up and smelled the coffee and did what is right on behalf of Venna.... I am so thankful that it is Friday and I don't have to officiate volleyball... I am enjoying volleyball but I never thought they would keep me this busy after being gone so long.... I am making all of my golf money, and in someways it has been fun... I enjoy watching the girls play volleyball... Bo is helping in managing his high school team also... I found out that the feelings for the Anaheim Angels are still really strong... I was on pins and needles during the game last night when they beat the Red Sox 5-0... I am getting ready to take Venna on a date... I really love her and I am so lucky to be able to spend time with her...

Wow, I am inspired!

I am so thankful to hear what my wife said about Becca.... I am so proud of Becca for showing us all that this is not the life to shrink and to fight the battle no matter what.... I am impressed with Julie's comments and the battle that her and Jared has... I am surrounded by great people who help me to know that I want to keep the Lord first in my life...

The Times That Try Men's Souls

This is a new experience for me and I approach it with some trepidation. My life and heart are so full and I am so grateful for the Lord's blessings to me. My children have been on my mind a lot of late, especially with Becca finally able to implant her last embryos. I know how deep her desire to keep this promise has been. I also know that timing hasn't made it easy. I couldn't help thinking of her Tuesday as I was teaching and I knew that she was finally implanting. My class has been studying the Revolutionary War and as a part of the unit we analyze Thomas Paine's The American Crisis I. This time it has a universal meaning and seems so poignant as I watch the world around us and ponder how my children and grandchildren will navigate its evils.

I dedicate this piece to Becca and all the young parents that daily make the unpopular choices on behalf of future generation. (I love you Bec)

The Times that Try Men's Souls
These are the times that try men's souls. The summer soldier and the sunshine patriot will, in this crisis, shrink from the service of his country; but he that stands it NOW, deserve the love and thanks of man and woman. Tyranny, like hell, is not easily conquered; yet we have this consolation with us, that the harder the conflict, the more glorious the triumph. What we obtain too cheap, we esteem too lightly:-- 'Tis dearness only that gives every thing its value. Heaven knows how to set a proper price upon its goods; and it would be strange indeed, if so celestial an article as FREEDOM should not be highly rated.
. . .My secret opinion has ever been, and still is; that GOD Almighty will not give up a people to military destruction, or leave them unsupportedly to perish, who had so earnestly and so repeatedly sought to avoid the calamities of war, by every decent method which wisdom could invent.

In our times I am sure God Almighty will not give up a people to destruction and the calamities of this generation who cherishes His children and protects the family. It really takes courage and strength not to shrink from the demands of this day, but future generations will reverence those who try. I am proud of and grateful for all of my children but this day I salute Becca.

Love Mom

Baseball playoffs starts.... Ho, hum!

This use to be a magical time of the year but it is really quite a ho, hum deal.... I will watch the Angels with care, but if they lose I don't really care what happens.... I have felt this way since the baseball union struck in 1994 and we didn't have a World Series.... I learned that there is life beyond baseball.... I officiated a game that Joshua was going to do before he went to see the Dodgers in the playoffs.... He went with Bruce Galler.... My game was Vasquez at Knight High School... It was a lousy game but I made about 110 dollars..... Night

Weird prayer!

I officiated a game at Paraclete which is a Catholic high school.... Before the game started they had a prayer.... There were some really fun loving fanatics in the stand and while the guy was praying he looked up and was talking about this group in his prayer and while he was still praying they started yelling and screaming.... Then they stopped and said all at once in the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit.... It was really strange to me who has witness many prayers in public before.... I am really unhappy with my class and yet they are doing well but I just don't want them slipping into a bad class.... I am riding them and I am not sure if it more me than them.... I can't believe how the government wants to enter my classroom with all these interuptions in the name of providing a better program... They want to move the weaker students to all these different teachers and programs.... I have a great relationship with them and they are learning and changing there habits and the government wants to mandate things to me.... I can't stand it and I wish the church would allow us to leave the public system so we can just flat out teach but it just isn't going to happen yet so I have to make it do.....

I'm tired...

This is keeping the commandments journal entry.... I know that the Lord is happy with us keeping a journal, but all I can say for today is that I am very tired.... Night

I'm a little embarrassed....

When I saw Dr. See my eye specialist I found out that I am doing better than I did the last time I saw him... I think he tried to make me feel better by saying that sickness my center around my left eye because I lay on my left side.... All I know is that is probably a bunch of bunk, but I am thankful that I am okay and that my imagination can relax for awhile.... Sorry, if I caused any of you to be concern over me.... That was a great conference and I really enjoyed Elder Hollands talk.... Night...

Strange experience last night.....

Josh and I went to the West Coast Baptist College in Lancaster last night to officiate a volleyball game... Any person who has morals would have to be thoroughly impressed with the student body that showed up for the game.... The place was packed with female students who wore dresses and skirts which went below their knee and that was true for every woman... The young men looked and acted with a wonderful morality that could be admired by anyone who believes in those things... They cheered wildly for their team but never showed any disrespect towards the opposing team or officials... And yet if it would have been announced that the officials are active members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints I guarantee that there would have been an immediate change in the aura of the gym.... Why?..... It is simple, these people are blinded by satan (I do not capitalize the name satan) in a way that is more powerful than any other use of this power and he does have an abundance of different ways to blind men from the true teachings of Jesus Christ.... You can hear Nephi saying,"Whoa, unto him that will say all is well in Zion, yea, all is well".... I love these people though because they do love Jesus Christ and will stand up against all of the Anti-Christ that exists today to fight against Lord's teaching.... We are on the same team but our leaders are different.... Now, I am going to sound harsh at times, but I am harsh towards the leaders and yet even they I hope, has the heart to want to do right but are just fooled by the precepts of man.... And yet if their heart screams filthy lucre as their motive then I am very critical of them.... How can people who really believe and love the Savior refuse to read the Book of Mormon.... It doesn't make sense, except again we see the power of satan, it is amazing to me.... The Book of Mormon would be a book of scripture that would inspire them to new heights as it testifies of Jesus along with the Bible.... But, I wish they would read the Bible with an open heart and mind.... The Lords church has the foundation of Apostles and Prophets.... It teaches that there is 3 heavens.... It tells us that there is baptism for everyone and the way that this can be done is by baptism for the dead.... The Bible teaches us that revelation is a necessary part of the gospel plan.... We know that the Lord had other sheep which was not part of the old world fold but another one and they would hear His voice and know it.... The Old Testament makes clear that there are special teachings that are not generally taught but is taught in a place like a tabernacle in those days and a temple in our day.... In reality these good people I was with last night really don't want anything more than what the Terrestrial Kingdom will offer.... In the Terrestrial Kingdom they will dwell with Jesus Christ.... They will be able to dwell with other honorable people just like they were doing last night.... They are not interested in Eternal Families or marriage.... They accept this fate and seem to be happy with it.... Now, this is my doctrine and I do not speak for the church, but I wonder sometimes if they did not seek this glory when they were in the premortal life (which they do not believe in at this time) and not wanting the weight of glory that comes from the Celestial Kingdom.... Let's not fool ourselves who seek the Celestial Glory, that kingdom lends to hard work, suffering, trial of patience and endless glory that we cannot comprehend, but our Father in Heaven had to endure 1/3 of His spirit children reject His plan.... Then he needs to experience many of His children who did take upon them the flesh to do outrageous sins on His faithful and innocent children.... No wonder he rejoices with His children who are faithful and no wonder His Spirit is in great abundance during our visits to the temple.... I love my fellow Christians but like in the Premortal life and now, I plead with them to accept the fullness of Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ teachings and allow the Holy Ghost to bear witness of these truths to their souls... I know that the blessings that come from baptism and going to the Temple will be worth whatever trial that I will need to endure... Please, my friends do not shrink from the greater glory that you can receive.... My Christian friends live in a light of the gospel in a sense, but they need to enter the dark and be tried really tried by the adversary and to stand up for Jesus under the worst of conditions to fully understand our Savior and be able to enjoy the Eternal light of the fullness of the Gospel.... Night...

I'm still not feeling wel....

I am getting through the day alright.... I had parent-teacher conference and I saw parents for about 3 hours and I did a volleyball game but I have to admit that I am anxious to see Dr. See my eye specialist.... This is the problem of keeping a daily journal because you put down things that will probably be stupid by next week.... I have to admit that Janice Stowers my principal has been very kind to me through this ordeal... Taylor is now on Face Book and she is really communicating with her friends... I personally find the sight very adolescent and blogs have more meat to it... Oh, we get silly on blogs but we don't say stupid things like, "I am going to the store" but I hope my daughter enjoys her new found freedom and doesn't do anything stupid.... Night